Juvenile facility to feature new therapy model

This is the second part of a two-part series on a juvenile center to be run by the state near Fort Stanton.

With a new juvenile offender rehabilitation center planned to replace the 2009 shuttered Camp Sierra Blanca, the state will use a new approach called the Missouri Cambiar model. The therapeutic approach has been described as not about doing time.

Unlike in the past when private companies ran Camp Sierra Blanca, the new program would be operated by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD). Ken Pifer, the department's deputy director of facilities, said some 10 years ago New Mexico decided to go from a therapeutic model to a correctional mode with youthful offenders. Then in 2008 the decision was made to reverse course.

"Where they actually had them get individual therapeutic, one-on-one with masters- and doctor-level therapists," Pifer said of the more recent approach. "They would do group work with them so they would learn how to not only get along but would be able to relate, empathize with each other. They would teach them how things like restorative justice where they would basically have to show empathy for their victims, learn how to be accountable to the community, and learn how to pay restitution and get competencies so that when they got out they would have skills so they could contribute to society not victimize society."

While CYFD adopted the Cambiar model to reform juvenile justice services, the program is carried out in secure facilities.

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Typically teens are released back into their community after an average of nine months in the program.

"We're already seeing a trend where our recidivism rate is way, way down from what it was four or five years ago." Pifer said of the Cambiar model. "So we're basically looking at a preview of us believing that our model is working - working much better than the correctional model for sure."

The local facility would likely grow.

"The first year there will be two units," Pifer said of the outpost targeted to open west of Fort Stanton. "The living units are actually two halves that look the same and each unit will have 12, for a total of 24. Twelve that are staffed by a therapeutic staff and another 12 that are staffed by a therapeutic staff."

There could be the maximum of four units, or 48 juveniles, in the second year.

Pifer said that is one of the big changes with the new approach. In the past across much of the country Pifer said the jail atmosphere for youth was deemed to be a failure.

"They warehoused kids. They taught them how to be better criminals. They taught them how to grow up so they could go to prison. And that's exactly what happened."

The therapeutic avenue aims to provide juvenile offenders with a GED and some job skills when they leave.

A day in the life

Many of the 14- to 17-year-olds who now come into the rehabilitation and therapeutic program at several other New Mexico facilities have had no structure in their lives, said Tom Breedlove, a senior consultant with the Missouri Youth Services Institute.

"Part of our job to begin with is to put some structure in these kids' lives. So we're adamant about getting those kids up at a certain time every morning, 5:30 - 6 every morning with chores that begin immediately. Taking care of their home like we do. Make our beds. Clean up our rooms. And then proceed down to the breakfast table. Once that's complete, they'll go back and we'll have circle-up as a group and we'll kind of check in, see where each one of those young people are at, where their heads are at."

Next, youth, who are called clients, would attend school at the facility.

"Our staff will be with them in the classroom. They'll be helping the teachers and acting as tutors with the teachers. They'll be monitoring their behavior, stopping what's going on if it becomes unsafe. Pulling that group together and getting it back to safety. It's about accountability. It's about control. Again, these kids haven't had structure in their lives and part of our job is not only to educate and provide some treatment, some therapy, but also to get control and then to transform them to taking control of themselves."

Mid to late afternoon provides a recreational/physical education period followed by what Breedlove said would be some "quiet time" to reflect with staff on what their day has been like.

"Be held accountable for any things that went the wrong way individually or as a group. And then proceed to figure out how they're going to go through the rest of the evening."

Early evening would bring what Breedlove called an important part of the day, a 1- to 1.5-hour group meeting.

"We do not believe that our job is just to contain the kids. We believe that's a big piece of our job, to keep them safe and the community safe. But we also believe we'd be falling short if we do not go further and figure out, help those kids figure out, what it is that got them there so they won't get back."

Evening chores would follow along with opportunities to bring families together for therapy. Clients would retire sometime around 8 to 8:30 p.m.

"We take medium risk kids that are regionalized," Pifer said. "If we have to do family therapy we can bring mom and dad to the facility. Or we can go in the home and do family therapy. One thing we've found is that it's really tough if you don't get the family involved."

Television time would be limited to the weekends. TV viewing is structured and monitored.

"It may be a sporting event," Pifer said. "It may be a PG or PG-13 movie. And the movies would come from our own libraries. We don't allow staff members to bring movies in."

Internet use would be limited to a closed loop system, potentially through ENMU.

"So we're really interested in using that instead of having any type of computer access because our kids are as computer savvy as any kid you'll find anywhere," Pifer said. "No matter what firewalls you put up, if they can bust through them, they can do it before anybody can."

Reintegration

While some violent offenders may be at the Lincoln County secured camp, there could be a change in future years.

"Our idea was that this new facility would be opened and it would be opened for three to four years while the Legislature endorsed the building of (a secure) facility in Roswell," said Jennifer Padgett CYFD's deputy cabinet secretary. "As we move forward with this facility notice, we also in the background have a plan to hopefully build the secure facility in Roswell. When that happens, the facility here would be turned into a reintegration facility."

Pifer called reintegration "a step down" for youth who have successfully gone through the secure therapeutic program.

"Where they have vocational training, they get employment in the community, and they earn real dollars towards restitution, put money in their pocket," she said of reintegration. "If they want post-high school education they get enrolled for vocational training. Many of them go to independent living."

Economic impacts

"We anticipate having 50 full-time employees," Padgett said. "That does not include three teachers, which are contract. Within those 50 employees, we anticipate $2.5 million for salaries and benefits. It just doesn't talk about youth care specialists. I don't want to call them detention guards, but youth care specialists that will work directly with the kids. That's behavioral health staff, teachers, people in the cafeteria. So it runs the gamut of various local professionals."

And the numbers could grow if the initial client population of 24 is maxed out to 48.

"That would also increase the number of staff thus bringing more jobs to the area," said Henry Varela, the communications director for CYFD.

"The $2.5 million - we appreciate that," said Lincoln County Commissioner Kathryn Minter. "But we've got more than that probably coming into our county just because of Fort Stanton being here."

The Fort Stanton Historical Site, formerly called the Fort Stanton State Monument, attracts visitors to the location. Minter suggested to CYFD that an economic analysis should be done to make sure there is no negative impact to tourism at Fort Stanton.

Padgett said she believed an economic impact review was done by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs (the New Mexico State Historic Sites division is within the department). She said she would check with the department to see if an analysis was done.

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